Friday, October 24, 2014

I've heard people say that bullying is a problem these days and it needs to end.

When my son was being bullied on the bus, I took the boys cookies and talked with them and
told them we wanted friendship. The bullying ended.

I've heard that people don't talk to each other enough and that kids are always on their phones.

Every morning at quarter to seven, my son waits for his school bus. The kids run around and
laugh and talk. They talk to each other and they talk to me. They tell me about their lives and
they tell me about their favorite things.

I've heard that kids these days don't ride bikes around the neighborhood or get to know their neighbors.

Do you want to hear about David and Savannah next store who always brighten our day when
we get a chance to spontaneously spend time talking on the front lawn? Do you want to hear
about Jonah who just started riding the bus and every day asks to come over to play? Do you
want to hear about the older boy who took my son under his wing and spent half an hour
leading him on a bike ride throughout the neighborhood last night?

I keep hearing these "truths" mentioned in conversation as though they are fact. The certainly aren't facts in my life. Want people to be neighborly? Be a neighbor. It's just that easy.